Flyers Sending Eric Lindros’ No. 88 to the Rafters

Perhaps talk of the bad blood between the Flyers and Eric Lindros all those years was overblown.

After the Flyers traded the Hall of Fame center to the New York Rangers in 2001, there was basically radio silence until 2012 when the Flyers hosted the Rangers in the Winter Classic and Lindros came back for the alumni game.

That's all frozen water under the bridge. On Jan. 18, the Flyers will retire Lindros’ No. 88 with a banner in the rafters of Wells Fargo Center. It continues the tradition of the team retiring the number of a player the year after he gets inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“I am deeply humbled and honored that the Flyers are going to retire my jersey,” Lindros said in a press release. “I am so thankful to the entire organization for this incredible recognition. I look forward to sharing this moment with my family, friends, teammates, and of course Flyers fans, who mean so much to me."

Lindros had 240 goals and 369 assists in 486 career games with the Flyers. He almost had more. Last year at the induction it came to light that Paul Holmgren, then the Flyers’ general manager, offered Lindros a contract midway through the season to suit up again in orange and black on the same squad as Jaromir Jagr.